While out last weekend with a friend from Detroit who runs a really interesting website on the Lost Synagogues of Detroit: http://shtetlhood.com/, I was giving him the tour of the Windsor Synagogues when we got to Shaarey Zedek.
Located on Gilles Blvd. this synagogue was built in 1957.
According to the Windsor Jewish Federation website:
The Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, located at 610 Giles Blvd. E at Lillian is the oldest orthodox synagogue in Windsor. It has a membership of approximately 45 families. The Rabbi is Joseph Krupnik. Services are held every Friday evening and Saturday morning and every major holiday. If a member has a yarzeit every effort is made to gather a minyan. A study group is held with Rabbi Krupnik many Wednesday evenings during the year.
The phone number is 519-252-1594.
It’s a shame that the practice of laying cornerstones has gone out of fashion. It makes it so much easier when we try to uncover some history a few decades later.
Many thanks to Dan at Shaarey Zedek who allowed us to view the inside.
I drive along Giles frequently w/o looking at these buildings – then, once in a while, i notice them. I’ve often wondered about them both – the Church and the synagogue. I’ll bet most people don’t even know that there’s a second synagogue on Giles. The Jewish community downtown must have been fairly large to have supported two synagogues.
I’ve visited the Lost Synagogues of Detroit website – really interesting!
Thanks – as always – for these pictures.
Its really interesting how many late 50’s structures have that similar fascia brick. Theres various styles, but they all betray the construction date as being in that decade. Theres several examples on Mack Ave through the Grosse Pointes – and of course the front of Parducci’s studio in the Corridor.
That interior is very interesting, I am so used to seeing christian church interiors, that the jewish church interiors fascinate me.
My friend lived right there on Lillian and I parked in front of this place so many times and always thought it was a church because I never actually looked at it.
How about a posting on the much more historic synagogue on Giles and Goyeau?
The information on this page is now outdated. Since June, 2009, the Rabbi at this synagogue is Rabbi Shalom Galperin.